ATLANTA – Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who has long infused his campaign message with subtle and explicit references to Martin Luther King Jr., on Sunday took his case that he should become the first black president to the church of the late civil rights leader.

The Democratic primary unfolds to the north next Saturday, in South Carolina. But the Ebenezer Baptist Church service, with a sermon celebrating King, gave Obama a platform to address the African American voters moving to the forefront of the presidential campaign.

Obama struck a chord of unity – political and racial harmony, but also compassion for gays, immigrants and people of different faiths. He praised King’s legacy and portrayed his candidacy as a vehicle to fulfill the work that King started. He offered uplifting rhetoric, but also tough love.

“If we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean,” Obama said to applause. “If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King’s vision of a beloved community.

“We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them,” he continued. “The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.”

Obama appeared to link himself with King. On the campaign trail, Obama touts his opposition to the war in Iraq, the time he spends away from his family and the power of words, as well as his background as a community organizer and civil rights attorney. At Ebenezer, Obama described King in strikingly similar terms.

“He led with words, but he also led with deeds,” Obama said. “He also led by example. He led by marching and going to jail and suffering threats and being away from his family. He led by taking a stand against a war, knowing full well that it would diminish his popularity.”

Obama, in his speech, attempted to once again pivot away from last week’s racially divisive back and forth between his campaign and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s, which concluded Saturday in Nevada with his second consecutive primary loss.

Politics that “fuels and exploits this kind of division” distracts the country from addressing “common challenges,” such as war, poverty and injustice, Obama said.

“We can no longer afford to build ourselves up by tearing someone else down,” he said. “We can no longer afford to traffic in lies or fear or hate. It is the poison that we must purge from our politics; the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late.”

Obama sat in front of the choir, occasionally nodding his head and tapping his foot to the beat. More often, he appeared deep in thought, his chin resting on his right hand.

Temperatures plunged into the teens over the weekend, and forecasts of snow and rain prompted churches throughout the Atlanta region to cancel their services.

But not Ebenezer. Worshippers were lined up down the block. And for that, the senior pastor was thankful.

The next time the city closes because of snow and ice, “I’ve got to invite Barack Obama,” the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock said from the pulpit. “I want to thank you, brother.”

Warnock, who will host former President Bill Clinton on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, did not let the historic nature of Obama’s candidacy go unacknowledged.

“We had to fight, bleed and die just to be able to vote,” Warnock said. “Now we can select presidents. And now with credibility and intelligence and power, we can run for president.”

Warnock briefly acknowledged the fear that some African Americans have expressed about Obama’s safety.

“Brother Obama is under heavy security but God is around him,” Warnock said at the close of the service.

And with that, Obama locked hands with the pastors, swayed to the organ and sang “We Shall Overcome.”